


Streetlamps After Midnight

by Mansaeboysbe



Category: BLACKPINK (Band), K-pop
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-24 08:46:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16171652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mansaeboysbe/pseuds/Mansaeboysbe
Summary: “Your curfew was three hours ago but if you weren’t meant to be here, this twenty four hour coffee shop wouldn’t exist, the coffee wouldn’t taste like liquid gold on your tongue, and the barista working the 3am shift wouldn’t be staring over at you with that glimmer in her eye that could be taken as an attempt at flirting.”





	Streetlamps After Midnight

**Author's Note:**

> -Admin Bee

The smell of coffee hits your nose from the moment you walk in the door, wrapping you in a warm embrace. It’s accompanied by a small bell, the only sound currently ringing around the small shop. The only barista working at this time of night pops out from behind the counter to give you a small smile. She gestures to your table by the window, a mug of hot chocolate awaiting you. She cut you off from coffee the fourth timed you’d come around at this hour, always complaining about your inability to sleep.

The 24-hour coffee shop was a five-minute walk from your dorm and while it was probably dangerous to go out at three in the morning, you’d risk it all for your late night rant sessions with Rose.

The first time you’d visited was the night your fiance had shown you the contract for the house he had bought you two. It was enormous, extravagant, and everything you never wanted. Sejung had meant well, though you knew your parents had a large say in picking out the house and even helping make the down payment. After a night of trying to sleep and failing, you found yourself wandering the streets near campus until you came across a small cafe that was always open. It was here you found solace in a warm cup of coffee and a girl who was willing to listen.

Rose was always working the night shift, you’d come to realize. She was a student at the local community college, studying musical theory with plans to become a music teacher. It was over hot drinks you’d gotten to know each other, her tea and your coffee/eventual hot chocolate. It was a dangerous habit but it was all you had to keep you sane.

“Morning, sunshine.” Rose slides into the chair across from yours with a cookie in her mouth. You try to smile but even you can tell it comes out as a grimace. “Did something happen?”

“I… just the usual stuff.” Business, college, arranged marriages- yeah, completely typical.

“Anything specific though? You seem more glum than usual.”

“Uh, well…”

“C’mon, Y/N,” she reaches across the table and lays her hand on top of yours, “you know you can tell me anything.”

“It’s Sejung again.”

It all comes spilling out at once, like coffee sloshing over the sides of a cup that’s been filled too full. It’s been a while since you’ve really let go. Everything is messy, and at one point Rose rises from her chair to take a few napkins from another table to wipe your tear-stained cheeks. But otherwise she sits and listens and you feel comfortable weeping in her presence. Unlike everyone else in your life, you don’t have to pretend to be collected at all times, you don’t find shame in showing emotions because Rose doesn’t make you feel like crying is a weakness. She assures you that it only makes you human.

“He’s moving us out to California, where Father’s business is adding a branch. They didn’t even ask me, he just brought it up at dinner as if it wasn’t something life-changing. I wouldn’t have a say either way but it would have been nice to know that I’m leaving everything.”

“Have you ever thought about running away?”

You frown at the abruptness of her question, wondering how she can make it all sound so easy. Of course, you’d thought about leaving, just packing up everything you owned and slipping away before anyone could tell you otherwise.

“Well, I’ve thought about it, but I can’t just leave. Can you imagine the chaos that would cause?”

“I’m just trying to give you options.”

“But that’s the problem, Rosie, I don’t have much say here.” The weight of the mug clanks against the table and you both wince at the noise, loud and resonating in the small, empty space.

“Being here is your say, isn’t it?”

The anxiety from earlier suddenly floods your system and sends your nerves into overdrive. When you look up, Rose is suddenly sitting closer than before. You’re not sure who moves first but suddenly Rose’s cheek is cupped in your hand, her lips pressed against yours in an almost desperate fashion. From this proximity, you can smell her perfume hidden under layers of ground coffee beans. It was light and floral, unmistakably rose. Somehow, you’d already known it would be.

But underneath it all, the curl of guilt you’d felt all night twisted in your gut. Sejung… he had no idea you came here every night, that everything he did made you anxious and unhappy. He’d been a perfect gentleman ever since you’d met him, even back before your parents came up with the selfish idea to join their businesses by having the two of you get married. He was kind, considerate, and generous, and you were here kissing someone else when he thought you were at home.

Maybe it was childish but you wanted to scream, rebel against your parents with everything you had. Everything you wanted, the college experience, late nights, the path to your dreams, and Rose too, it was all so close, within your reach and you weren’t allowed to touch. You were trapped under your parent’s thumb and they were hundreds of miles away, and rebellion wasn’t something you were familiar with. It should have felt amazing, freeing, like you could do anything in the world- but it just felt wrong.

“Rose, stop.”

Your voice comes out irritatingly strong and she immediately drops the hand that had become tangled in your hair. With eyes wavering, her gaze bores into you in a way only vulnerability could create.

She sits back and waits but you can’t seem to formulate an explanation. For Rose, silence is answer enough.

“When do you leave?” She asks after a moment. Your head is buried into your hands, burning under resentment for yourself. Rose shouldn’t have been involved in any of this.

“Next week.” You cringe.

She nods, slowly, as if she’s trying to decipher everything that happened. It’s another moment of silence before she stands and goes behind the counter again. You finish the rest of your hot chocolate in one gulp, wincing at the burn against the back of your throat and take the cup up to where Rose is meticulously cleaning a spoon.

“Rose, it’s not-”

“Y/N, don’t worry about it. The coffee fumes in this place give everyone a caffeine high. Plus, you’re probably really tired.”

You felt everything but tired. Your brain was trying to process a thousand things at once.

“Please, Rose, I don’t-”

As if on cue, your cell phone began to ring. It was Sejung, you knew without looking at it- you’d set his ringtone as your favorite song. Rose glanced down at your hand hovering over the pocket where your phone was tucked before she looked back up and met your gaze, turning the water off and retreating into the back. You watched her go, contemplating letting the call go to voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Y/N,” Sejung’s low voice came through the speaker, “I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

“ ‘s alright,” you turned over your shoulder to glance at the door Rose had disappeared through, “I was already up.”

“Oh,” you could almost hear the frown in his voice, “are you okay?”

Your heart dipped at the concern in his voice, “I’m fine, Se, what made you call?”

“Right, um, well, I couldn’t sleep. And I just needed to hear your voice.”

“Oh, I- I couldn’t sleep either, truthfully.”

“Do you want to… talk about it?”

Everything you’d pent up over the past seven months came rushing forward at his offer. It was tempting, meeting Sejung face to face and letting everything out at once, catching him up on everything you’d been telling Rose instead of him, letting him into the storm you’d kept raging inside yourself until there was nothing left to hide. But it was also past three am and you knew that whatever decisions you made tonight, you’d regret in the morning.

“Sejung, we-”

“We can go out and do something. Really early breakfast, or coffee, or something. Just the two of us. No parents. And we can talk.”

Rose had come back to the front and you met her eyes, searching for any sign of resentment, disappointment, anything. Anything to convince you to decline Sejung’s offer and stay here, where you felt free from everything the outside world threw your way. But you knew she wouldn’t let you.

“Okay.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I’ll pick you up from the dorms in about ten minutes, okay? Y/N, I-” he cleared his throat, “I’ll see you soon.”

“Thanks, Se… see you soon.”

The call ended and you hesitated in lowering the phone away from your ear. Rose stayed leaning against the doorway until you’d pocketed the device, only coming forward to return to washing dishes at the sink. There was a slight redness around her eyes like she’d been crying but when she turned back towards you, there was a slight smile on her face.

“I gotta go.”

She nodded knowingly, “You’re welcome to keep coming back if you want.”

“I- thank you.” You wanted to reach out and wrap her into a hug again, but that was a boundary that you were no longer allowed to cross, “Rose, I wanted to a-”

“Y/N, I said don’t worry about it.” She reached out and placed a tentative hand on your shoulder, “Don’t want to keep Sejung waiting.”

“Right,” you laughed bitterly, turning and walking to the door. “I don’t know if I want to say goodbye.”

“How about, ‘see you tomorrow?’” She offers, following you to the door and keeping her hands down by her sides the entire time. It’s best for the both of you, but you find yourself wishing she was holding your hand through this.

“See you tomorrow, then,” you manage. There’s an awkward silence between you where you wish you could tell her everything was going to be okay, but you weren’t sure if even you could convince yourself. You have to push yourself to open the door and step out into the cool night air, leaving the comfort of the coffee shop behind you as you walk down the sidewalk leading back to your dorm.

A quick glance at your phone tells you it’s 3:25 am, and you can’t help but feel grateful that the streetlamps along this street don’t provide very much light. You wouldn’t want Sejung to be able to tell that you were on the brink of tears.

He’d have questions.

You didn’t have the answers to them yet.


End file.
